Suspended speaker housing in a teleconference system

Abstract

Aspects of the invention can include a teleconferencing system having a system housing, a speaker enclosure configured within the system housing, a speaker mounted to the speaker enclosure, and one or more damping cushions coupling the speaker enclosure to the system housing. The one or more damping cushions can suspend the speaker enclosure within the system housing such that the speaker enclosure is separated and mechanically isolated from the system housing by at least a minimum distance (e.g., 2 mm). In some cases, the one or more damping cushions provide the only structural coupling between the speaker enclosure and the system housing. The one or more damping cushions can be configured to dampen mechanical energy generated by the speaker thereby preventing at least a portion of the mechanical energy form coupling to the system housing via the one or more damping cushions.

Description

BACKGROUND[0001]Teleconference systems (e.g., conference phones) often include a particular type of phone that is well-suited for use in telephone conference calls with multiple people calling from multiple different geographic locations. A typical teleconference device may be similar to a conventional mobile phone in that it may include a keypad to dial phone numbers and, in some cases, a display to render data relevant to the call including the phone number, participant names, a local time, the length of the call, and the like, but typically does not include a handset. Rather, teleconference devices often include a loudspeaker to allow all participants to hear the conversation and a microphone to enable hands-free use.[0002]Teleconference systems have improved as new generations are introduced into the market. For instance, high fidelity speakers and microphones can be found on contemporary devices. Some modern displays offer richer content, improved resolution, sleeker user inter...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0005]The teleconferencing system may further include one or more microphones disposed in the system, where the one or more damping cushions can be further configured to reduce an amount of mechanical energy generated by the speaker and coupled to the microphone via the one or more damping cushions. The one or more damping cushions may dampen audio spectrum mechanical energy generated by the speaker and mechanically coupled to the system housing by at least 6 dB. In some cases, the audio spectrum may be a voice spectrum of 300 Hz-3000 Hz, although some may define other ranges as the voice spectrum (e.g., 100 Hz-3000 Hz, 100 Hz-1000 Hz, etc.). In some embodiments, the one or more damping cushions may have a non-linear force response profile such that they increase a compression resistance at an increasing rate as an increased compression is applied. Other non-linear force response profiles are possible.

Problems solved by technology

Despite the many improvements in teleconference systems, many teleconference systems still incorporate suboptimal design choices and performance tradeoffs to accommodate certain performance specifications that continue to plague even the more contemporary high end systems.

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